Mine water-car.



' No. 787,112. i PATENTED APR.11, 1905.

W. J. RICHARDS.

MINE WATER CAR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1l. 1904.

Patented April 11, 1905.

UNTTBD STATES PATENT @Flaca \\'lLLIAi\l J. RICHARDS, OF HOtlUYOOl), TENNESSEE.

MINE WATER-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,112, dated April 11, 1905.

application filed July Il, 1904. Serial No. 216,147.

.To wlw/)t l'/A lli/I l/ woll/writ:

Be it known that l, \V1LLL\M J. Rtcuauns, a citizen of the United States, residingatlockwood, in the county of Roane and State of lennessem have invented new and useful lmprovements in Mine \Vater-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a mine water-car, the object of the invention being to provide a simple` strong, and effective device of this charzuter which can be readily moved from place to place in a mine and which is provided with means for wetting down the floor, ceiling, walls` and other ordinarily inaccessible places in mine galleries, chambers, passages, and the like in order to avoid explosions from floating' dust.

ln that embodiment of the invention which l have. selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings, forming' a part of this specification, the ear involves a wheeled truck carrying a tank, associated with which is a pump arrang'ed to supply the tank with the water which is to be subsequently used in sprinkling and which pump is also adapted to force the water from the tank in order to sprinkle desired areas. Said pump in the present case and certain of its adjunctive parts are housed within the tank, where they are out of the way, so as to avoid injury to the same or the possible striking by them of the projecting parts within a mine. 1n addition to this compactness is secured.

lti-xferring to said drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a mine water-car including my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same with a part thereof removed.

Like characters refer to like parts in both figures.

The car represented in the drawings involves in its construction a deck or platform, as 5, mounted upon a wheeled truck, (denoted in a general way by l5 and illustrated as having four wheels.) A tank of suitable dimensions and material, as T, is mounted directly upon the platform 5, and it is adapted to contain water to be used in sprinkling exposed f surfaces in mine chambers or compartments and other similar places. The water to be used in sprinkling is supplied to the tank 7 (which latter may be of iron) by thc` action of a pump, represented as housed in the tank and hereinafter more particularly described. lt might be stated at this point that the pump is traction-operated --that is, it is operated by and on the movement of the car Yfrom power developed therefrom during the travel of said car -to expel or force the water from the tank T.

\\'ithin the tank T and mounted in any desirable way isa force-pump, as 8, of any usual or preferred construction having` the customary air-chamber E), check-valves, and piston, which l do not deem it necessary to describe or illustrate, as the same form no part of the invention. The piston-rod of the pump is denoted by l0, and to a forward extension thereof is pivoted the lower end of a crank arm or lever 1l, rigidly fastened in some suitable way to the transversely-disposed rock-sha ft 1;),supported by the side walls of the tank T near the top of the latter. The opposite ends of the rock-shaft l2 extend outward a short distance beyond the sides of the tank, and the projecting end of said shaft in the foreground in Fig. l is provided with a crank-arm i3, rigidly connected therewith and detachably connected with a rod or pitman l-l, represented as provided at its lower end with a ring l5, embracing the eccentric 16 on the wheel of the truck in the foreground and at the left of said ligure. From this it will be apparent that when the car is in motion and when the rod il is connected with or coupled to the crank-arm 13 the shaft l2 will be rocked so as to impart through the intervening parts a motion to the piston of the pump. \Vhen it is desired to put the rod or pitman 14C out of action or render it ineffective as a powertransmitting medium, the same will be disconnected from the crank-arm 1C), and in such an event as this the said rod or pitman will be reciprocated idly back and forth on the motion of the car and during such time will be supported by a bracket, as 1T, on the adjacent side of the tank.

'.lhat projecting end of the shaft l2 opposite that carrying the crank-arm i3 rigidly carries a crank-arm, as lo, to which l have represented as detachably connected a handlever, as 19, by manipulating' which, as will be apparent, the pump 8 through the intermediate parts will be operated. Under ordinary conditions the hand-lever is actuated to operate the pump to supply water to the tank 7,

while when it is desired to discharge water from said tank to spray the interior surfaces of a mine the pump will be operated from the eccentric 16 during the travel of the car.

Communicating with the suction side of the pump 8 is a T, as 20, from which the pipes 21 and 22 lead oppositely, each pipe having a valve of some ordinary kind. Y The stems 23 and 24 of the valves extend upward and are provided with hand-wheels, as 25 and 26, respectively, or similar devices for operating the valves. The terminal end of the pipe 22 opens into the tank 7 near the bottom thereof, while the corresponding portion of the pipe 21 extends in a water-tight manner to the forward end of the tank 7 and in practice is fitted at its extreme forward end with a suitable connection for a suction-hose. A T- coupling, as 27, extends from the discharge side of the pump 8, and from its branches in turn extend oppositely the pipes 28 and 29, respectively, the pipe 29 opening into the interior of the tank, while the pipe 28 extends through the forward end of the said tank in a water-tight manner and is provided with a iiexible hose by which a stream of water can be directed as desired by an operator. The pipes 28 and 29 are provided with valves like those in the pipes 21 and 22, the stems of which are denoted by 30 and 31, respectively, and are provided with actuating devices or wheels, as 32 and 33, respectively. rIhe suction tube or hose adapted to be connected to the receiving end of the pipe 21 may be dipped into a sump or any other source of Watersupply.

In operation the car is moved to a place in adjacence to a sump or other place of watersupply, and the entering end of the suctionhose is put into the sump or other source of water-supply. The valves in the pipes 28 and 22 are then closed, while the valves in the pipes 21 and 29 are opened. The rod or pitman 14 is then disconnected from the crankarm 13, should it be connected therewith, following which the hand-lever 19 is connected to the crank 18 in order to operate the pump 8 through the intermediate parts. Upon the operation of the pump water is drawn into the pipe 21 and, passing the pump, is delivered thereby, through the agency of the pipe 29, into the tank 7. When the tank is filled to the proper height, the operation of the pump under the action of the hand-lever 19 1s stopped. The car is then moved along a track to a position ready for use. Vhen it while the valves in the pipes 2l and 29 are closed. Vhen, therefore, the car is drawn along the track, the pump will be operated from the eccentricl and other cooperating power-.transmitting parts in order to pump water from the tank 7 by way of the pipe 22 through and by the pump 8 and from thence into the pipe 28, from which pipe 28 the water Hows into the flexible hose, by manipulating which latter the water can be directed as desired the operator.

In practice I provide at one end of the bottom of the tank a valve by which said tank can at desired intervals be drained. Instead of supplying the tank with water by the action of the pump 8 I may do so by pouring water into the tank through the top thereof. In fact, there are other ways in vwhich the necessary water may be delivered to the tank.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the car is adapted to convey water from one place in a mine to another and that it has means for wetting' down and washing' off the sides, top, and ioor of dusty mine-chambers in order to render the same absolutely safe from dust explosions. I use the same pump for both filling and discharging the tank and can take water from any point within the limit of the suction of the pump and can discharge the water from the tank while the car is in motion by the tractive power of said car. By the action of the pump I can discharge from the tank a stream of suflicient size and force to thoroughly wet dry and dusty mine entriesor rooms.

The car is sufciently strong to stand the rough usages to which it will be subjected in a mine, and practically all of the operating parts are contained within the tank. The car can be propelled without discharging water even when full and when the rod 14 is connected with the crank 13 by closing the valves in the pipes 21 and 28 and opening the valves in the pipes 22 and 29.

I do not limit myself to the exact construction hereinbefore described nor to the particular use set forth, for as to theconstruction a number of changes may be adopted within the scope of my claims.

Having' thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a mine water-car, a tank, a Wheeled truck for carrying the tank, a pump in the tank, valved suction and delivery pipes connected with the pump, the receiving end of the suction-pipe being located outside the tank and the remainder thereof and the deliverypipe being situated in the tank, a second pair of suction and delivery pipes connected with the pump, the discharge end of the second delivery-pipe being located outside the tank and the remainder thereof and the second suctionpipe being situated within the tank, a rockshaft supported by the tank, a hand-lever connected with one end of the rock-shaft, a crank- IIC ISO

arm connected with the other end of said roekshaft, Wheel-operated means detachably connected with said crank-arm, and means in the tank, and operated by the shaft, for actuating the pmup 2. ln a mine water-car, a tank, a wheeled truck for carrying the tank, a pump in the tank, valved suction and delivery pipes connected with the pump, the receiving, end of the suction-pipe being'located outside the tank and the remainder' thereof and the deliverypipe being situated in the tank, a second pair of suction and delivery pipes connected with the pump` the discharge end of the second delivery-pipe being, located outside the tank and the remainder thereof and the second suctionpipe being situated within the tank, a rockshaft supported by the tank, having' a crankarm at one end thereotl outside the tank, a wheel-operated rod detachably connected with said crank-arm, means Yfor supporting said rod for reeiprocation on the motion of the car and when the rod is disconnected from said crank-arm, manually-actuated means for turning said shaft, and means for transferringthe power of the shaft to the pump.

3. ln a mine water-car, a tank, a wheeled truck for carrying the tank, a pump in the tank, valved suction and delivery pipes connected with the pump, the receiving end of the suction-pipe being located outside the tank and the remainder thereof and the deliverypipe being' situated in the tank, a second pair ot' suction and delivery pipes connected with the pump, the discharge end of the second delivery-pipe being` located outside the tank and the remainder thereof and the second suctionpipe being situated within the tank, a rockshaft supported by the tank, a hand-lever connected with one end of the rock-shaft, a crankarm connected with the other end of said rockshaft, an eccentric arranged to be operated by one ot' the wheels, a rod operable by said eccentric and detachably connected with said crank-arm, a bracket on the side of the tank for supporting, said rod Yfor reeiproeation when it is disconnected from said crank-arm, and means in the tank, and operated by the shaft, for actuating' the pump.

Aln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribingl witnesses.

VlLLlAM J. RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

D. KELLY, NV. S. SCA minous i i. 

